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(11) | EP 2 808 114 A3 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Process for flux coating braze preforms and discrete parts |
| (57) Systems and methods for evenly applying a flux coating to any number of different
shaped parts with a single machine are described. The systems and methods provide
advantages in that the flux coating may be applied accurately within 2% to 4% of desired
thickness with 85% to 95% of the total yield of flux being applied, this minimizing
waste. Thousands of parts may be batch treated with a single machine, without operator
input. The method of applying a flux coating (70) on a plurality of parts (34) for
a brazing operation comprises the following steps: tumbling the parts in a tumbling
drum (17) with a controlled atmosphere including a user definable temperature and
humidity within the tumbling drum (17); cycling the parts (34) through a coating cycle
comprising:spraying a flux (30) from at least one nozzle (42) within the tumbling
drum (17) during the tumbling for a user defined period of time; coating the parts
(34) with flux (30) with a uniform thickness within 2% of a desired thickness; tumbling
the parts (34) following the user defined period of time to cure the flux (30) to
a desired hardness; and repeating the coating cycle for a plurality of repetitions
wherein the uniform thickness of coating on the parts (34) is uniformly increased
with each coating cycle.
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